Songbird. Josephine Cox

off,’ he conceded regretfully. ‘The last time we had a set-to, she took a terrible beating – and all for something and nothing. A fella at the club put his arm round her as she walked out and as usual, I laid the blame on her.’ He shrugged. ‘Yeah, that’s what it was all right – something and nothing.’

      He sighed self-indulgently and took another measure of whisky. ‘Mind you, we were busy making up till the early hours, and I can tell you here and now, your precious Maddy didn’t have no complaints about my performance that night!’

      ‘You’re an arrogant divil.’

      ‘Yes, so you keep saying.’

      Straightening his shoulders beneath the beautiful cloth of his Jermyn Street suit, Steve drew himself up to his considerable height. ‘She always comes running back. It only goes to prove how bad she wants me.’ He flicked open a box of Dunhill cigarettes and lit one with a gold lighter. ‘Want one?’ He offered the box to Alice, who ignored it.

      ‘Why don’t you marry her?’ Alice was known to come straight to the point.

      He laughed. ‘I never marry my women. Can’t trust a single one of ’em. My old mother taught me that, the poxy tart. God knows who my father was – she had more men than you’ve got spuds in Ireland, love. No, there’s no woman alive who’ll get me shackled to her.’

      ‘Have you told her that?’

      ‘I don’t have to, she already knows my opinion – that women are good for one thing only.’ Swinging round to face Alice, his mood suddenly darkened, as it so often did. ‘I think it’s time you got back to work,’ he hissed. ‘Before I get to thinking I might be better off with somebody who doesn’t ask so many questions! Bloody women, it’s nothing but yap, yap, yap.’

      Despite her recent vanishing act, Steve was satisfied that he had his Maddy exactly where he wanted her; his little songbird on a string. And it didn’t matter what he did to her, because she always ended up singing along to his tune.

      Still weaving a path through the dining-tables, Madeleine was stopped many times by clubbers who were delighted to see her back, from what they had been told was a well-deserved holiday away from the hustle and bustle of Soho.

      With a sweet smile, she thanked them and moved on towards her tormentor; the man she could neither live with, nor without. She loved him, she hated him, and now as she glanced at him across the room, she wanted him as much as ever.

      Not overly handsome, Steve Drayton was a big man. Fit and toned, with a quick mind and an instinct for making money, he had built the Pink Lady up from nothing. There was an aura of power about him that was very sexy, and a certain kind of look from his narrow hazel-coloured eyes that could turn Maddy’s blood to water. Sometimes he was so good to her; at other times, he became a devil.

      Though apprehensive, she was glad to be back, to realise that he still wanted her. And yet there was always that niggling doubt that he might throw her aside; that he would find someone else, younger than her thirty years, and she would have no part in his life. In her heart she knew that might well be for the best, but she hoped it would never happen.

      Now though, she had something to tell him. Something that might seal their future together, once and for all.

      As she drew nearer, the doubts set in. He was such a volatile man, so unpredictable. How would he react? The moment she was standing before him, her courage began to waver.

      ‘So! Here you are at last, eh? Took you long enough to make your way back, didn’t it?’ he said smoothly, in the softest tone that made her shudder. ‘You needed to punish me, was that it?’ He traced her jawline with his finger and she felt hypnotised by his touch.

      ‘That’s not true, Steve, and you know it,’ she whispered.

      ‘So why don’t you tell me what the truth is, then.’ He stepped closer, his eyes boring into hers. ‘You’ve not been singing else-where, or I would have heard. So where have you been hiding? Got a bit on the side, is that it?’

      ‘Will ye leave her be!’ Sensing trouble, Alice quickly intervened. ‘Go easy on her, for heaven’s sakes,’ she urged in a low voice. ‘There’s a million an’ one eyes trained on the pair of youse.’

      Steve’s display of temper had not gone unnoticed by the regulars, some of whom did not believe the holiday story. They had seen the way he acted with her, controlling and possessive. So who could blame them for hoping she might have escaped, found a new life, a new man, one who might cherish her the way she deserved.

      Impatient, they called out to her now. ‘Come on Madeleine, we’ve missed you! Get up there and strut your stuff!’

      The clapping rose to a deafening crescendo. ‘We want Songbird! We want Songbird!’

      ‘All right, all right!’ Laughing, she gestured towards the stage. ‘I’m on my way.’

      As she turned from him, Steve caught her by the arm. ‘What do you mean?’ he demanded. ‘Surely you’re not thinking of performing tonight?’

      ‘Why shouldn’t I?’

      ‘Because you’ve only just walked in, dammit! We need to go somewhere quiet, somewhere we can … talk.’ Although he had other things on his mind than talk. ‘You’ll want to rehearse – decide the songs, organise the musicians. It all takes time.’ He gave a lazy smile. ‘Besides, we’ve already booked a comedian for tonight.’

      ‘He’s been cancelled,’ Alice interrupted.

      ‘Cancelled!’ Steve swung round to face her. ‘What the hell are you talking about, woman? Who cancelled him?’

      ‘I did. And if ye want to make something of it, I’m ready.’ The little woman had a look in her eye that Steve knew all too well. If it wasn’t for the fact that Alice ran the club in his absence, was totally trustworthy and knew how to keep her mouth shut about his business deals, he would have thrown her feet first out the door long ago.

      Instead he issued a stark warning. ‘Be careful, lady. You don’t want to overstep the mark.’

      There were many ways of being rid of people like Alice, and he knew them all.

      Defusing the situation, Madeleine told him hastily, ‘It’s not Alice’s fault. It was me – I arranged it all. And now the boys are backstage, ready when I am.’ She smiled, pleased with herself. ‘You see, I haven’t just walked in,’ she admitted. ‘I was here this afternoon while you were at the races. Me, Dave and Dino rehearsed all afternoon.

      ‘You did what! And why the devil wasn’t I told?’

      She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I asked them not to let on,’ she replied boldly. ‘We timed it for when you wouldn’t be here. I’m sorry, but, well … we all thought it would be a nice surprise for you.’ She peeped at him from her soft dark eyes. ‘But it’s all right, isn’t it, Steve?’ Most times she could wheedle her way round him, and thankfully this proved to be one of those times.

      He studied her a moment, wanting to hit her, aching to love her. ‘You’re a witch!’ His desperation to have her was all he could think of. ‘Well, all right. But I won’t pretend I’m not rattled at being hoodwinked.’ The sound of hand-clapping and foot-stamping was deafening. ‘Your fans are getting restless. You’d best go.’ He took another moment to study those mesmerising dark eyes, then warned her, ‘Don’t think you’ve got the better of me. I can take you or break you.’ But his cutting remark was a lie, and they all knew it.

      Without a word and giving him no time to change his mind, Madeleine hurried away to the dressing-room,

      Steve took his drink to the small table at the side of the stage which was reserved for him. On the way, he paused to exchange a word or two with